Fluid release packer head



E D 1938. J. A, CRUMLEY FLUID RELEASE PACKER HEAD 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 15, 1954 Inventor Feb. 11, 1936. J. A. CRUMLEY 2,930,134

FLUID RELEASE PAC/KER HEAD Filed May 15, 1934 2 Sheets-$heet 2 /g Inventor J14. frwmfay flttorney Patented Feb. 11, 1936 UNITED STATES PAENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention relates to a fluid release packer head for use in oil and gas wells, the general object, of the invention being to provide means whereby gas pressure in the well below the packer can be released whenever desired, with means for operating the release device from the top of the well.

Another object of the invention is to provide aball or roller bearing casing head top clamped onto the tubing so that the tubing can be rotated freely to permit the release device to be operated.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the fluid releasing head and tubing can be removed from the well without disturbing the packer.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for retarding the flow of water into the' bottom of the well when the packer head is being removed.

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specifically pointed out in the. appended claims.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings whereinlike characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure l is a sectional view through a well, showing the invention in use on the well tubing.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the fluid release packer head assembled with a hook wall packer.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional View through the fluid release packer head.

Figure 4 is an elevation, with parts in section, of.:-the upper portion of the device shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is an elevation of the coupling sleeve.

Figure '7 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section of the lower bearing casing head cap.

In these drawings, the numeral 4 indicates the well casing and the numeral 2 indicates the well tubing. The numeral 3 indicates a coupling sleeve, into the reduced upper end of which the lower end of the tubing 2 is threaded, while the numeral 4 indicates a tube having its upper end threaded into the coupling and this tube 4 forms a continuation of the well tubing. A tubular valve body 5 surrounds the tube 4, with its lower end resting against a shoulder 6 on the tubes 4 near its lower end. A reducing coupling 1 is threaded at its upper end onto the lower end of the body, 5 and at its lower end onto the upper end of the tube 8 which has its lower end threaded into a sleeve 9 which is internally threaded to receive the well tubing below the packing means.

The packer head or top is shown at H] and a sleeve H is threaded into the lower end of the top and carries the resilient packing member l2 and the lower collar It, the lower end of which is beveled for engagement by the dogs or slips 35 resiliently connected with the slip cage 34 which also carries the bowed spring 33 and which is slidably arranged on the lower part of the sleeve ll. This sleeve also carries a pin 32 for engaging the slots 36 in the depending portions 31 of the cage, as shown in Fig. 2. The body 5 is formed with an annular enlargement 5, the bottom of which is undercut to receive the resilient ring l3 which is held in place by the sleeve l4 fastened to an intermediate part of the body 5 by the screws l5, this ring being engaged by the beveled upper end it of the top [0 when the parts are in the position shown in Figure 3. Pins I! are passed through the top It, the sleeve l4 and into holes in an intermediate part of the body 5 to hold the parts in the position shown in Figure 4, when the, packer is being lowered into the well and then after the packers dogs, to be hereinafter described, have been moved into engagement with the casing and the weight of the well tubing is allowed to rest on the pins H, the pins will shear off and then the parts will assume the position shown in Figure 3. This will permit the well tubing and body 5 to be removed without removing the packer, and in order to prevent any water on the outside of the packer flowing quickly into the lower part of the well, when the tubing is lifted, I provide a baffle member I8 on the lower part of the tube 8 which has a loose fit in the sleeve II. This baflle plate will check the flow of water and thus prevent this water from causing a cave-in, which would shut off the producing sand.

A hole [9 is formed in an intermediate part of the tube 4 and a hole 23 is formed in an intermediate part of the body 5, while a small passage 2| extends into the hole 28 and through the lower part of the body 5, as shown in Figure 3. Antifriction means 22 are located between the coupling 3 and the upper end of the body 5 and packing means 23 are located between the upper end of the body 5 and the tube 4 to prevent any foreign matter getting between the tube 4 and the body 5. Grooves 24 are formed on the exterior part of the tube i to contain grease so as to reduce friction between the two parts. A circumferentially extending notch 25 is formed in the lower end of the coupling 3 and a pin 26, carried by the upper end of the body 5, lies within the notch which is longer than the diameter of the pin so that rotary movement of the coupling 3, the well tubing and the tubing 4 simultaneously relative to valve body 5 is limited and these parts are so arranged that when the pin is engaging an end wall of the notch, the hole is will register with the hole 29 and then when the parts are turned, the hole is will be moved out of register with the hole 20, as shown in Figure 4.

A casing ring 27 is constructed to fit the usual type of easing head 28 and said ring has a recess in its center to receive the anti-friction means 29 which support a clamp 33 which is clamped firmly around the upper end of the well tubing, as shown in Figure '7. Thus the anti-friction means 29 takes a part of the load off of the fluid release head and keeps the well tubing straight in the well and permits the well tubing to rotate freely, these anti-friction means 29 working in conjunction with the anti-friction means 22 to permit free rotation of the well tubing and the parts associated therewith.

After the device has been attached to the tubing, the tubing is lowered into the well to the desired point and then the tubing is rotated and this rotary movement is communicated to the member l and the sleeve l 9 through means or the pins I? which are of sufficient strength to impart this rotary movement of the tubing to the member to and sleeve ii. As the springs 33 are engaging the well casing, the friction exerted by this engagement will hold the slip cage 35 against turning movement so that the pins 32 will move out of the slots 38 so that further downward movement of the tubing will cause the lower part of the sleeve ii to move downwardly relatively to the slip cage 34 which is held by the frictional engagement of the springs 33 with the well casing and thus the slips or dogs 35 will be moved outwardly by the beveled lower end of the collar Iii and thus these slips will take hold of the well casing in the usual manner. When this takes place, the weight of the tubing above the packer is allowed to rest on the packer body which causes the pins ll to shear off. This will free the body 5 from collar it so that the tubing can be removed from the well without removing the packer.

When gas accumulates in the lower part of the well and it is desired to release this gas, the tubing is rotated to partly rotate the coupling sleeve 3 until the pin 25 engages the opposite end wall of the notch 25 and when this occurs, the hole l9 will be in register with the passage 25 so that the gas will escape from the bottom of the well, past the baiiie plate it which has a loose fit in the sleeve ii, up through the space between the sleeve H and the parts l and 8, through the passage 2i into the hole 26 and out through the hole I e into the tubing 4 and thus pass to the top of the well through the tubing 2. After the gas has escaped, the tubing is rotated in an opposite direction to partly rotate the coupling 3 so as to ring the other end of the notch against the pin 25 and when this is done, the hole i9 is out of register with the hole 28.

As is well known, packing means are used to exclude water from the bottom of the well and gas collecting below the packing means exerts back pressure on the producing sand and retards the flow of the oil into the well so that production is reduced and eventually ceases. With my invention, gas pressure can be relieved whenever desired by simply turning the well tubing to cause the hole E9 to register with the hole 29 so that fluid in the well tubing can escape so that the gas can escape through the tubing and thus a capacity flow of oil from the producing sand is assured. It will also be seen that the fluid release head and the tubing can be removed from the well without disturbing the packing means and the bafiie member !8 checks the flow of water into the bottom of the well when the release head is removed so that this water cannot cause a cave-in. This invention will not interfere with the operation of the regular pumping equipment and permits the escape of gas from below the packer and at the same time prevents water above the packer from entering the producing area.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with well tubing and a packer, a member of tubular construction seated on the packer and having a passage therein extending through a side wall thereof and a tube rotatably arranged in said member and connected with the tubing and having a hole therein for registering with the passage when the tube has been rotated to a certain position.

2. In combination with well tubing and a packer, a tubular member having a reduced part fitting in the packer, a gasket carried by the tubular member and resting on the top of the packer, said tubular member having a passage therein extending through a side wall thereof, and a tube rotatably arranged in the tubular member and connected with the tubing and having a hole therein for registering with the passage when the tube has been rotated to a certain po sition.

3. In combination with well tubing and a packer, a tubular member having a reduced part fitting in the packer, a gasket carried by the tubular member and resting on the top of the packer, said tubular member having a passage therein extending through a side wall thereof, a tube rotatably arranged in the tubular member and connected with the tubing and having a hole therein for registering with the passage when the tube has been rotated to a certain position, anti-friction means located between a part of the tubing and the upper end of the tubular member, and anti-friction means for supporting the tubing at the top of the well.

4. In combination with well tubing and a packer, a tubular member having a reduced part fitting in the packer, a resilient ring carried by an enlarged part of the tubular member and engaging the top of the packer, said tubular mem-- ber having a passage extending through a side wall thereof, a tube rotatably arranged in the tubular member and having a hole therein for registering with the passage when the tube has been rotated to a certain position, a coupling member for connecting the upper end of the tube with the lower end of the tubing, anti-friction means between the coupling member and the top of the tubular member, a tube having its upper end connected with the lower end of the tubular member and located in the packer, and a bafi'ie member carried by the lower part of the lastmentioned tube and engaging an interior part of the packer for checking the flow of water into the lower part of the well.

5. In combination with well tubing and a packer, a tubular member having a reduced part fitting in the upper portion of the packer, a resilient ring carried by the large part of the tubular member and engaging the top of the packer, pins passing through the top of the packer into the tubular member for normally holding the ring spaced above the top of the packer, said pins shearing under the weight of the parts when the packer has been set in a well,

parts associated therewith to be removed from 10 the well without removing the packer.

JAMES A. CRUMLEY. 

